Early Registration Extendedthrough March 23!

Congressional Advocacy Day – April 24, 2017

Ecumenical Advocacy Days is a movement of the ecumenical Christian community, and its recognized partners and allies, grounded in biblical witness and our shared traditions of justice, peace and the integrity of creation. Our goal, through worship, theological reflection and opportunities for learning and witness, is to strengthen our Christian voice and to mobilize for advocacy on a wide variety of U.S. domestic and international policy issues.

Audio of the press conference associated with the prayer vigil and witness on Capitol Hill from April 24 is now available.

Lobby Day Ask

As people of faith, we call on Congress to make budget decisions that advance the common good. Rather than increasing Pentagon spending, we urge Congress to preserve robust funding for programs that help provide support to people living in poverty and other vulnerable persons in America and abroad, address systemic racism, and exercise responsible care for the earth.

Our Faith Calling

As Christians, our faith calls us to advocate for public policy that ensures the just allocation of resources for the common good of all. Our federal budget is a moral document: a reflection of the values and priorities we hold as a nation. As such, we are inspired by the vision in Isaiah (40:3) of a day when “every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.” God calls us today to ensure the equitable and sustainable allocation of our resources toward a more just and peaceful world.

Fifty years ago, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. offered a prescription for the root causes of inequality and insecurity in his time. The “giant triplets” of racism, militarism, and materialism remain ever present today. Racism remains an open wound in our nation, resulting in the disproportionate killing of black and brown bodies and the stunting of lives through unjust economic and social structures. Militarism remains the United States’ overriding approach to foreign policy as reflected in our lopsided budget that allocates drastically more for defense than diplomacy or development. Extreme materialism threatens our souls and our very planet, as poverty increases while prosperity narratives and unrestrained capitalism spreads despite overwhelming evidence of its unsustainability. As in Dr. King’s time, we teeter precariously between chaos and community.

In 2017, we are drawn together at Ecumenical Advocacy Days to challenge racism, militarism, and materialism. We reflect God’s call to love our neighbor through our advocacy for a budget that advances the common good and builds toward the beloved community God intends.